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Jacob

യാക്കോബ്

“He grasps the heel”

In the readings on 1 Sunday so far.

Russian icon of the patriarch Jacob from an iconostasis, Yaroslavl, about 1654
The Patriarch Jacob, Church of Saint John Chrysostom in Korovniki, Yaroslavl, c. 1654

At a glance

In Malayalam
യാക്കോബ്
What the name means
“He grasps the heel”
In the readings
1 Sunday, 31 January 2027
Gospel passages
Luke 12:32–48

Name meanings and role notes are drafted with each edition and waiting for review by a priest or editor.

The life of Jacob

Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, renamed Israel. The father of the twelve tribes, he saw a ladder reaching to heaven, wrestled with God, and died in Egypt blessing his sons.

Born
Twin of Esau, born holding his brother’s heel ScriptureGenesis 25:24–26
Died
In Egypt at 147, after blessing his sons; buried in the cave of Machpelah ScriptureGenesis 47:28; 49:29–33; 50:13
Family
  • Parents: Isaac and Rebekah ScriptureGenesis 25:20–26
  • Brother: Esau ScriptureGenesis 25:25
  • Wives: Leah and Rachel, and Bilhah and Zilpah ScriptureGenesis 29–30
  • Sons: Twelve, fathers of the tribes of Israel, including Judah and Joseph ScriptureGenesis 35:22–26

  1. He buys Esau’s birthright for a bowl of stew.

    ScriptureGenesis 25:29–34

  2. He receives his father’s blessing by deceit and flees from Esau.

    ScriptureGenesis 27

  3. At Bethel he dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels going up and down.

    ScriptureGenesis 28:10–22

  4. He serves his uncle Laban twenty years and marries Leah and Rachel.

    ScriptureGenesis 29–31

  5. He wrestles through the night and is renamed Israel.

    ScriptureGenesis 32:24–30

  6. Reconciled with Esau, he returns to Canaan.

    ScriptureGenesis 33

  7. In famine he goes down to Egypt, where his son Joseph is governor.

    ScriptureGenesis 46

  8. Jesus tells Nathanael he will see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, recalling Jacob’s dream.

    ScriptureJohn 1:51

Read it in the Bible

  • Genesis 28:10–22 The ladder
  • Genesis 32:22–32 Wrestling with God
  • Genesis 49 His blessing and death

Sources: The Holy Bible (World English Bible).

Drafted from the Bible and Church tradition. Each line says where it comes from; anything marked Tradition or History is not in Scripture itself. Waiting for review by a priest or editor.

Sundays with Jacob

  1. Sunday of All the Departed Faithful

    Gospel: Luke 12:32–48

    Whose death and burial are read before Qurbana today.

Also in these readings

About the icon

The Patriarch Jacob, Church of Saint John Chrysostom in Korovniki, Yaroslavl. c. 1654. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Everyone in the readings